Trucking Industry Trends

Jul 26, 2021 | Trucking

Data Driven Decisions  

The coronavirus highlighted and accelerated many of the trends happening in the trucking industry.  This is causing trucking companies to take a closer look at their expenses they can reduce.  Businesses are turning to advanced data analytics to make some of their most important financial decisions.  While many trucking companies are stuck in the 20th century, the top competitors are analyzing and implementing more efficient operations through driving patterns, staffing strategies and production locations.  Specifically, staffing has been impacted greatly over the last year and is causing this factor to increase in pricing. 

Staffing 

There is no denying the pandemic has caused employment shortages in many industries and trucking is no exception.  Thousands and thousands of trucking jobs are being left open, with some in the industry claiming it is causing them to not be able to meet demand. The average salary for trucking is going way up in order to entice drivers to either come back to them or encourage a new workforce of drivers to enter.   

While employment shortage is one of the biggest things to worry about, it’s important to note consumer spending has also dipped in the last year, leading to less of a need for trucking.  

Digital Capabilities 

The advancement of technology is one of the brighter trends in the industry.  It’s allowing both businesses and employees to be more flexible with their workflow.  This includes capabilities like documenting digital receipts, electronic logging devices, the nearing future of self driving vehicles and much more backed by the analytics mentioned earlier. 

While many of the trends on this list account for the rising expenses for the trucking industry, digital advancement enables truckers to be more efficient in their workflows.  Leveraging digital capabilities in workflows and daily operations could be the deciding factor on which companies rise to the top and the ones that go bankrupt in these extremely difficult times. 

Fuel Costs 

Finally!  A trend that is straight forward and no complicated buzzwords to look up.  Fuel costs are tied to the economic and political environment.  As the current Government continue to encourage the use of renewable and clean energy, the costs of gasoline will rise and the supply of it will dwindle.  Without debating the pros and cons of each side, that is the current status of the situation.  Trucking companies need to navigate these waters, and some are doing this by using alternative fuel trucks.  While it’s not the norm, electronic trucks are increasing in popularity to both help with cost reduction and the industry’s need to keep up with the changing political landscape. 

If you liked this post, check out our Outsourced Accounting for the Trucking Industry Guide.